Valve



A. J. GROSS VALVE] Filed April 10 1924 '2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

[7206741611 v J/hra pf. @7056,

Patented Aug. 11, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALLAN J. GROSS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN L. KENNEDY, OF

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

VALVE.

Application filed April 10, 1924. Serial No. 705,564.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALLAN J. Gnoss, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Valves, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference bein had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

The invention relates to a means such as shown and described in the patent issued to me November 4, 1919, Patent No. 1,320,889 for preventing the clapper of dry pipe or other valve and its associated mechanism from being set and its parts fixed so that the operation of said valve is interfered With.

In the structure illustrated in the patent above referred to a plate or cover is employed which is rotatable to various angular positions, to thereby arrange certain ele ments of the structure to allow the removal and association of the plate from the valve casing, these elements being designed to cooperate with a portion of the clapper of the valve to thereby compel the valve and associated mechanism to be properly set before the plate or cover can be applied to the easing to seal said casing.

In the structure disclosed in the patent above referred to a pin or projection forms one of the elements which is employed to assist in accomplishing the desired end, which pin projects from a portion of the valve casing in the path of movement of the cover plate and. is arranged exteriorly of the casing, thereby permitting persons with malicious intent or ignorant of the manner in which to remove the plate, to sever or otherwise remove the pin and thereby defeat the object for which it is employed.

It is one of the prime objects of the pres ent invention to arrange the pin or other means employed to accomplish the invention so that access thereto is extremely diflicult, thus insuring against its being tampered with or entirely removed to thereby defeat the purpose and object of its use.

It isa feature of the invention to construct a portion of the casing so that it will allow the pin or projection to be moved relatively to the casing and thereby permit another portion of the structure to be positioned relatively to a part secured to the clapper arm so that the plate may be attached or removed from the casing.

It is a feature of the invention to arrange the means such as the pin or projection above referred to interiorly of the valve casing so that access thereto is impossible when the plate is associated with the casing.

It is another feature of the invention to associate said means with the cover, so that it is movable with the cover to permit the association and disassociation of the plate or cover from valve casing.

It is another object to provide a means for performing the object of the pin which means is movable relatively to the valve, to thereby control certain other elements of the structure which in turn control the removal and association of the plate relatively to the casing.

The invention has these and other objects all of which will be described in detail and more readily understood when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate one embodiment of the invention, it being obvious, however, that changes and modifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the appended claims forming a part hereof.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a sectional view of a valve casing, a portion thereof be ing left in elevation for the purpose of illustration.

Figure 2 is a section taken on line 22 Figure 1.

Figures 3 and 1 are sectional views taken on line 33 of Figure 2 showing changed positions of a cover plate employed in the structure, and

Figure 5 is a sectional detail of a portion of the cover plate which co-operates with a part of the valve arm to hold the plate against removal from the casing.

The valve illustrated in the drawings is of that character employed in a sprinkler system and is generally referred to as a dry pipe valve, having the inlet and outlet open ings designated 10 and 11.

The casing 12 of the valve is designed to be provided with a hand hole 13 and the housing 14, an end thereof being closed by the cover plate 15.

The wall 16 of the housing 14 is apertured at 17 to permit the trunnion 18 of the valve arm 19 to be passed therethrough and be journaled therein. This valve arm 19 is provided with a valve 20 which controls the inlet opening 10 and is designed to be maintained in this closed condition until the pres sure above it is released by the opening of a sprinkler valve connected in the system.

The housing 14 is further provided with an extension 21 which is apertured to receive the stud 22 which projects from the cover plate 15 and extends into the trunnion 18 of the valve arm 19. The trunnion 18 is constructed to provide the passage 28 which forms a communication between the interior of the valve and the housing 14.

The valve arm 19 is provided with a projection or arm 24 to which is pivotally connected a strut or clutch member 25, the latter being designed to co-operate with a wall of the housing 14 to hold the valve 20 and valve arm 19 in an elevated or open position, thereby preventing the closing of said valve after it has once been lifted from its seat. The arrangement just described is capable of allowing the valve and valve arm to be manually operated to reset the valve and is therefore provided with a finger piece 26 which will allow the clutch member 25 to be grasped and swung on its pivot out of engagement with the arcuate wall of the housing 14, permitting the valve and valve arm to assume a position in which the valve closes the inlet 10. It is manifest that the structure readily allows the valve and valve arm to be raised, as the toggle connection between the clutch and valve arm will upon the raising of the valve arm move the clutch element 25 away from the wall adjacent thereto, and will move the clutch member toward said wall and hold the valve arm in an elevated position should the valve 20 attempt to move toward its seat.

As before stated the structure includes a means whereby the cover plate can only he removed when the valve and valve arm are elevated and again lowered, and can only be applied by raising the valve and valve arm and again lowering them from which it can be seen that the plate cannot be applied to the casing unless the valve is in a position to prevent the passage of water through it.

The mechanism whereby this feature is accomplished includes the stud 22, the flanges 27 and 28, the pin 29, the projection 30, which extends inwardly from the cover plate 15, and the stops 31 and 32 provided -upon the extension 21 of the clutch chamber housing 14.

It may be here stated that during the resetting operation an edge of the plate is positioned relatively to a wall of the clutch chamber so as to provide a space which allows the finger piece or handle 26 of the clutch to be grasped to move it upwardly thereby releasing it and allowing the valve arm to be lowered and the valve to be reseated.

Presuming that the valve has been opened and has assumed the dotted line position shown in Figure 1, the pin 29 which is carried by a portion of the arm, assumes the position thereof shown in Figure 3 arranging it adjacent the denuded portion 33 of the flange 28.

Upon a slight rotation of the plate 15 in a clockwise direction, or until the pin 39 engages the stop 31 see Figure 3) the de nuded portion above referred to is brought into alignment with the pin 29 allowing the cover plate to be moved outwardly until the flange 27 of the stud 22 engages the pin 29. The valve and valve arm are then moved to close the valve which arranges the pin 29 in the position shown in Figure 4. The cover plate is then moved in a contraclockwise direction with the stud 22 as its center until the pin 30 engages the stop 32 of the projection 21 which arranges the de nuded portion 34 0f the flange 27 in alignment with said pin 29 allowing the cover plate to be removed.

To apply the cover plate the operation just explained will be reversed or in other words the valve and valve arm will be raised and the plate caused to assume the dotted line position shown in Figure 3 and then said valve and valve arm will be lowered and the plate moved to the dotted line position shown in Figure 4, from an inspection of which it can be seen that a space is provided which permits the clutch to be grasped and moved which allows the valve and valve arm to be lowered.

The rotation of the plate to the dotted line position shown in Figure 4 brings the denuded portion 83 of the flange 28 into alignment with the pin 29 allowing the plate to be moved inwardly toward the imtil the parts are arranged in the manner shown in Figure 2.

The cover plate is then rotated in a clockwise direction until the slotted extensions 35 are brought into register with the similarly shaped slotted extensions 36 of the ca? mg.

The cover plate is held relatively to the housing 14 through the medium of the bolts 37 and the nuts 38, the heads of the former being arranged in the recesses 39 provided in the extensions 36, the shank of the bolts being arranged in the slotted openings of the cover plate. This arrangement holds the bolt against rotation and permits the nut to be applied thereto to thereby hold the cover plate with relation to the housing.

From the foregoing description it is manitest that a means is provided whereby the cover cannot be secured in place until the valve is arranged in closed position.

It is also evident that the means such as the pin 30 is arranged interiorly of the easing and is inaccessible, which adds to the ditficulty in removing it.

Having thus described the invention what I claim and desire to cover by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the character described the combination of a casing, a valve mechanism provided in said casing, an aperture provided in the casing, a cover plate for said aperture, means for controlling the setting of said valve, said means including a portion of the cover plate which engages a part of said valve and means arranged interiorly of said casing for controlling said first mentioned means.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of a casing, a valve mechanism provided in said casing, said casing having an opening, a cover plate for the opening, said cover plate and valve having cooperating means for releasably locking the cover plate relatively to said valve mechanism and means for controlling the operation of said locking means, said means including a member arranged interiorly of the casing.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination of a casing, a valve mechanism provided in said casing, an aperture provided in the casing, a cover plate for said aperture, means for controlling the setting of said valve, said means including a portion of the cover plate which engages a part of said valve and means projected from said cover plate arranged interiorly of said casing for cooperation with the casing for controlling said first mentioned means.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination of a casing, a valve mechanism provided in said casing, an aperture provided in the casing, a cover plate for said aperture, means for controlling the setting of said valve, said means including a portion oi the cover plate which engages a part of said valve and means pro ected from said cover plate arranged interiorly of said casing for cooperation with the casing for controlling said first mentioned means, said last mentioned means being rotatable with respect to said casing.

5. In a device of the character-described, the combination of a casing, a valve mechanism provided in said casing, an aperture in said casing, a cover plate for said aperture, said cover plate being rotatable to eiiect the association and removal of the cover plate relatively to the means for controlling the setting of said valve, said means including a portion of the cover plate which engages a part of the valve and a portion arranged interiorly of the casing and movable with said cover plate.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination of a casing, a valve mechanism provided in said casing, an opening in the casing, 21 cover plate for said opening, said plate having means cooperating with the valve for controlling the setting of said valve, said means also permitting the association and removal of said plate with respect to said valve and means extending from said plate and cooperating with said casing which is movable to various portions with respect: to the means of said valve to effect an association and disassociation of the cover plate and said valve.

7. In a device of the character described, the combination of a casing, a valve mechanism provided in said casing, an opening in said casing, a cover plate for said opening, said cover plate being provided with a member which projects therefrom, said member having annular flanges which engage a holding element provided upon a portion of said valve and prevent the removal of the plate from said casing, said member and said holding means being movable relatively to each other to eifect the association and removal of the plate relatively to the casing, said plate having a projection which is extended into the interior of said casing, said projection being movable into engagement with stops provided upon the casing to arrange the flanges of said member relatively to the holding means of said valve to effect the attachment and release of the cover plate and casing.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 7th day of March A. D., 1923.

ALLAN J. GROSS. 

